Releasable plug jacket



Aug 22, 1944. F. c. scHUELER 2,356,278

RELEASABLE PLUG JACKET Filed June 22, 1939 FIELI.

6 WPA 5-215 I l TTEY.

Patented Aug. 22, 1944 RELEASABLE PLUG JACKET Fred C. Schueler, Andover, Mass., assignor to John W. Bolton & Sons, Inc., Lawrence, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Application June 22, 1939, Serial No. 280,559

Claims.

This invention relates to the revolving plugs of Jordan engines.

A Jordan engine includes a shell of frustroconical form from which knives project inwardly, such knives usually being separated by separators, and a frustro-conical plug revolving at a very high rate of speed. A large number of metal bars, which are usually separated and held in a radial position by separators of wood, or some similar material, project from the surface of the plug.V

Such plugs may be solid, hollow, or of skeleton construction, but usually are provided with longitudinal slots invwhich the bars set, but there are plugs with complete jackets or sleeves with key ways and keys to prevent the jacket from turning on the plug body.

If separate bars are used, they must be locked against centrifugal force. A cast jacket or one with a cast foundation will stretch little, if any, but a jacket consisting of bars and separators assembled on bands or wires will stretch a limited amount and the separators, if of wood, may expand and contract more or less radially and circumferentially.

Split liners and wedges are used in shells, but on plug jackets, the centrifugal force tends to open a split and must be counter-acted.

Some purposes of this invention are to permit the use of ah unsplit, slightly elastic or stretchable jacket by providing means to make it always fit the plug; to compensate for any stretching or increase in the inside circumference of the inside surface of the jacket; and to compensate for Wear.

It has been thought that longitudinal key ways in which keys are seated are necessary to keep a jacket in place and to keep the plug from revolving inside of it, but I have discovered that a jacket with a smooth inside curved surface will remain in place on the outside face of a curved surface of a smooth plug during normal running conditions if the two are held together by a continuous pressure which produces a correct predetermined friction llt.

To create this pressure, I preferably provide a jacket which is slightly smaller than the plug so that when it is put in piace, there will be a clearance or space between the small end of the jacket and the small end ofk the plug and also between the large end of the jacket and the large end of the plug and I then provide a pressure plate which preferably constantly and elastically bears against the small end of the jacket and is attached to the small end of the plug by adjustable by some adjustable and elastic pressure means.

The force holding the jacket and plug together can be regulated and, if desired, it can be so regulated that if and when a given amount of resistance is met by the bars of the plug jacket, the jacket will stop or slow down while the plug overcomes the friction between its outer surface and the inner surface of the jacket and continues to revolve until it is stopped by the greater force required to revolve against such friction acting on the usual stop motion, such as a current breaker.

The constant, steady pressure of such an end plate prevents the jacket from gradually Working off from the plug and this device also can be used to move the bars on the plug radially outward towards the shell knives to compensate for wear.

I prefer to use a built up, slightly elastic jacket with a substantially smooth inside curved surface, built up of bars and separators in which the separators project slightly, as the friction of separators of wood or other material not metal is easily regulated, so that it will be less than the force required to rip out or injure the bars and knives,`or both, where the bars are rigidly carried by the plug.

Peferably, I use such a built up plug jacket, but a jacket in which the inside curved surface which comes in contact with the plug is partly or wholly metal can be used.

I may also use the end plate with a plug and jacket which are not entirely smooth on their contacting surfaces but Which have some sort of key, pins, or bolts, which will shear when a certain predetermined force is applied.

I can use both devices or either, as I believe I am the rst to make an arrangement of this character. v

Another purpose of this invention is to provide means whereby if anything, such as a lump or piece of metal, gets in between the knives and bars, instead of the revolving force of the plug ripping out the knives and bars, the jacket carrying the bars of the plug will either stop or greatly slow down, while the plug will revolve awhile inside the jacket and then stop.

In the drawing, Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a Jordan engine, partly in section to show the inside.

Fig. 2 is a vertical section on a plane which runs through the axis of a plug showing the plug and the jacket.

pressure screws, or by elastic pressure screws, or 3 is an elevation as from the left of Fig. 2

but showing the complete end oi the jacket and end plate.

l'lg.4isanenlargedsectionsimi1artothesmall end oi' Fig. 2 showing-a modified construction.

Figs. 5 and6areotherviewssimilartoFig.4 showing other modified constructions.

Fig. 'I is a vertical detail section showing exaggted the relation of the separators to the plug Fig. 8 is a detail elevation showing the outside of a plug jacket of a modified form.

Fig. 9 is a view similar to Fig. l of another means to regulate the strength i' the connection between the jacket and the plug.

Fig. 10 is still another view similar to Fig. 7 of another modification. s

In the drawing, F represents diagrammatically the shell of a Jordan engine and A represents the driving shaft of a frustro-conical plug P which has a smooth outside curved surface I, together with a small end 2 and a large end 3. v

L represents a jacket or liner for the plug which, as shown, has an inside smooth surface Il, small end I2 and large end I3 which are all slightly smaller than the corresponding parts of the plug.

This jacket or liner has no split but is continuous and, as shown, is positioned on the plug, leaving an annular space l at the small endand an annular space 5 at the large end.

Jacket L is made up of metal bars B, B and separators S, S which are preferably made of a material, such as wood, artificial wood, or other material which is not metal, or not the same metal as the plug.

Preferably, the separators S, S project inward and are in contact with plug P, while the bars B, B may or may not contact it.

The bars and separators may be assembled on and held together in any suitable way, as by wires W, W.

D is a pressure plate of annular form which has a central hole I9 through which shaft A passes and a rim I l which extends out over the metal bars B, B of the plug liner or jacket L. 2li, 20 represent pressure screws which pass through plate D and enter threaded holes 8, i in the small end of the plug P.

Each pressure screw 20 has a head 2l and be Itween this head and the outside end of pressure plate D is the compression spring 22. The combined force of such springs bearing against the pressure plate D constantly presses the jacket L up on the plug P with a. force which can be regulated by tightening or loosening the screws 20.

This adjustment can easily be made through the usual chamber I 6 by removing the cover from the hand-hole I 1.

. The Jordan, as shown, in addition to comprising a plug P carried by shaft A, includes the inlet I4 to chamber I6 and the outlet I 5 which carries away the treated stock. As shown, shaft A is driven by a pulley E and can be adjusted axially in the usual way by the means G, which includes box 1 carrying the bearings for one end of shaft A. the other end being. carried by suitable bearings III. 'I'he box 1 is movable axially with shaft A and plug P by screw 8 and wheel 9, all of a well-known construction, In Fig. 4, the pressure plate D is shown as adiustably connected to the small end 2 of plug P by bolts 2l which extend through flange 2i, forming part of the small end 2, and through plate D. Each bolt 24 has a nut 25 on each end and a compression spring2l which tends to keep a constant pressure on plate D and against jacket L.

In Fig. 5, the pressure plate ll is slightly different. T'he shaft 29 is threaded at 3|- ior a nut 32 between which and plate 30 is a spring 33 which surrounds shaft 2l, these being housed in a cap 3l. By turning up the nut 32, the pressure can be regulated.

In Fig. 6 is shown another arrangement wherein the pressure plate Il is provided with recessed holes Il and is forced up against .the small end 2 of the plugby screws C, C. each having a head "and each of which preferably enter a recess Il.

I find by test that such screws C, if made oi.' the right kind of elastic steel, stretch slightly when tightened, as shown exaggerated in Fig. 6. and maintain a constant pressure against the iacketL.

I can use a jacket with a substantially smooth inside surface on a plug with a substantially smooth outside surface, both arranged in such a way that under some conditions the plug can turn inside of the jacket. I prefer, however, to provide a compound jacket made up of bars B and separators S held together by wires W wherein the separators are of wood, or some similar material which is more or less elastic, and to arrange these in such a way that, as shown in Fig. 7, the contact between the jacket L and the plug P will be of wood, or some other elastic material, as this makes it easier to adjust what might be called the releasing friction between the pressure plate and the jacket than where metal to metal contact is used. In the latter case, there is some danger of the two metals seizing or sticking together so that the pressure cannot be as easily regulated,

However, as shown in Fig. 8, in addition to the pressure plate, I can use shearing pins or screws 40 which pass through slots Il in the jacket into the plug or, as shown in Fig. 9, I can use a plug 43 with a single keyway into which a weak key 45 enters from the jacket. In either of these cases, the strength of the shear pin or key can be so regulated in connection with the pressure of the pressure plate that the friction caused by the pressure plate will be overcome and the key or pin will shear at a predetermined resistance.

Without regard to any releasing point or friction, a pressure plate with adjustable pressure can be used to great advantage in compensating for any wear or stretching of thejacket. If the jacket is forced up toward the large end oi the plug so that it increases in its outside circumference, this can be compensated for by the plugadjusting devices G so that the bars on the plug jacket will not hit the knives on the inside of the Jordan shell.

I also claim to be the first to discover the fact that by using a substantially smooth plug and jacket, together with means to regulate and limit the force of the means holding them together and making such means of a character to release when met by a predetermined resistance, the plug could revolve inside the jacket so that neither the plug nor the jacket would be injured to any serious extent.

I have devised such a regulatable means in my end plate with a continuous velastic pressure on the small end of the jacket, used alone or with a shear pin or key, or a pin or key alone. With any or all of these devices when, for instance, a piece of metal drops into the Jordan, nothing is broken except a key or pin Ior pins and the same jacket can be replaced and re-adjusted on the same plug. Y

I, therefore, claim that a construction, such as shown in Fig. 9, wherein there is a jacket I6 made. of'cast metal but the key 45 is made with a predetermined breaking strength is new and is my invention.

Another embodiment of my invention is shown in Fig. 10 where there is a plug 50 with a smooth outside surface associated with a split jacket I with a smooth inside surface, the end bars 52, 52 being adjustably conected by right and left screws. 53 by which the frictional retaining pressure can be regulated, the rest of the space being filled after such adjustment by a plastic 54.

The bars 55 and separators 55 are shown as held together by wires 51.

I claim: 1. The combination withA a frustro-conical Jorvdam plug having a smooth outside curved face;

of an unsplit jacket made up of metal bars and separators of other material than metal fastened together and having an inside substantially smooth curved face corresponding with the outer curved face of the plug, the jacket being so positioned that its small end is spaced from the small end of the plug and its large end' is spaced from the large end of the plug; and adjustable elastic means at the small end of the plug to exert continuous axial pressure to force the jacket towards the large end of the plug.

2. The combination with a frustro-conical Jordan plug having a smooth outside curved face; of a jacket made up of metal bars and separators of other material than metal fastened together and having an inside substantially smooth curved face corresponding with the outer curved face of the plug, the jacket being so positioned that its small end is spaced from the small end of the plug and its large end is spaced from the large end of the plug; and adjustable means at thev small end of the plug to exert axial pressure to force the jacket towards the'large end of the plug.

3. The combination with a frustrmconical Jordan engine plug: of a jacket so positioned that its small end is spaced from the small end of the plug and its large end is spaced from the large end of the plug; and an annular pressure plate which bears against the small end of the jacket and is adjustably and elastically attached to the small end of the plug.

4. The combination with a frustro-conical Jordan engine plug; of a jacket so positioned that its small end is spaced from the small end of the plug and its large end is spaced from the large end of the plug; and an annular pressure plate which bears against the small end of the jacket and is adjustably attached to the small end of the plug. "Tg

5. The combination with a frustro-conical Jordan engine plug having a substantially smooth outside curved face; of an unsplit jacket made up of metal bars and separators of other material than metal fastened together and having an inside substantially smooth curved face corresponding substantially with the outer curved face of the plug; and adjustable elastic means to exert a continuous predetermined frictional pressure between the inside face of the jacket and the outside face of the plug which will permit the plug to revolve inside the jacket after'the jacket hasv encountered a predetermined resistance.

6. 'I'he combination with/a frustro-conical'Jordan engine plug having/a substantially smooth outside curved face; of a jacket having an inside substantially smooth curved face corresponding substantially with the outer curved face of the plug; and adjustable elastic means to exert a continuous predetermined frictional pressure between the inside face ofthe jacket and the outside face of the plug which will permit the plug to revolve inside the jacket after the jacket has encountered a predetermined resistance.

7. The combination with a frustro-conical Jordan engine plug having a substantially smooth outside curved face; of a jacket having an inside substantially smooth curved face corresponding substantially with the outer curved face of the plug; and adjustable means to exert a predetermined frictional pressure between the inside face of the jacket and the outside face of the plug which will permit the plug to revolve inside the jacket after the jacket has encountered a predetermined resistance.

8. The combination with a frustro-conical J ordan engine plug having a substantially smooth outside curved face; of a jacket having an inside substantially smooth curved face corresponding substantially with the outer curved face of the png; and adjustable means which will permit the plug to revolve inside the jacket after the jacket has encountered a predetermined resistance.

9. The combination with a frustro-conical Jordan engine plug having a substantially smooth outside curved face; of a jacket having an inside substantially smooth curved face substantially corresponding with the outer curved face of the plug; and means to regulate the frictional resistance between the jacket and the plug so that the plug can revolve inside the jacket after the jacket has met with a predetermined resistance.

10. The combination with a frustro-conical Jordan engine plug having a substantially smooth outside curved face; of a jacket having an inside substantially smooth curved face substantially corresponding with the outer curved face of the plug; and means to regulate the strength of the connecting means between the jacket and the plug so that the plug can revolve inside the jacket after the jacket has met with a predetermined resistance.

f FRED C. SCHUELER. 

